On Wheel: Mercedes targets young blood with C-Class sports c...

On Wheel: Mercedes targets young blood with C-Class sports c...: "DAN PROUDFOOT For many years, the absence of a small, sporty two-door coupe has caused younger buyers to turn to BMW, or more recently to ..."

Benz mulls first Thai-built 4x4

Tax-friendly engines and habitual SUV fad are attracting Mercedes to make the third-gen ML in Thailand.
Although Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) hasn't made a formal announcement yet, top executives have whispered to Life that the Germans are hoping to enhance their Thai portfolio with a new product in the guise of an SUV.
You see, SUVs are still a living craze in Thailand and the only Mercs to come with competitive prices _ meaning assembled in Thailand _ are mainstream saloons like in the C, E and S classes.
BMW is currently bolting the X1 and X3 in the country with prices circa 2.2 and 3.5 million baht, respectively. Mercedes, meanwhile, has no Thai-built SUV offering, and that's why it wants to build the ML-class here.
Yes, so that means Mercedes has to start with a bigger model (theoretically meaning higher prices and lesser sales than the X3 and X1, albeit more margin-per-unit). Mercedes has the GLK in Europe to match the X3, but it isn't engineered for right-hand-drive.
Because of that, ML would be in a class of its own when assembly is slated to start next year (the Thai-built Volvo XC90 is ageing terribly despite a friendly 3.5 million baht price tag).
The third-generation ML, codenamed W166 and seen here in the first official pictures, has evolved mildly over the preceding model, currently in Thai showrooms with that same distinct C-pillar design theme.
Despite the similarities in terms of looks, the new ML is 24mm longer, 16mm wider and 19mm lower than before for a more dynamic appearance. Airmatic air suspension promises the ML will have some off-roading capabilities.
The wheelbase remains at 2,915mm, which explains why Mercedes isn't making big noises in terms of improved levels of practicality.
However, the gentlemen in Stuttgart stress that the new ML has better rear seats _ a critical point in the second-gen ML _ and a higher level of luxury and noise insulation, as well as more safety options, including side airbags for rear passengers and a knee airbag for the driver.

Rear seats claimed to be comfier

 

 

What are the engines beckoning Thai product planners?

It's definitely not the existing 190hp 3.0-litre V6 in the ML300 CDI; it's the new downsized four-cylinder diesel-turbo for the ML250 CDI used in the E250 and C250 CDIs. With a 16.7kpl average, the ML250 is claimed to be 28% more efficient than the ML300.
Apart from being able to avoid 80% import tax, the ML250 would face a 5% lower excise tax rate of 35%, due to its smaller engine, to theoretically bring down the price from 6 million baht to around 4 million baht.
Plus, the rumoured ML300 Hybrid _ essentially an electrified version of the ML250's basic running gear _ could be taxed at just 10% by the excise people to further lower the price, if production costs warrant.
Seven-speed automatic is standard across the range, as well as six-mode adjustable traction control for the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system for easy mud trekking.

Exterior styling is evolutionary.

Cool. It appears downsizing is working in Thailand.

Probably. You will also note that the CLS and S-class have already downsized with four-pot engines in the guise of CLS250 CGI/CDI and S250 CDI, although their arrivals in Thai showrooms are still imminent.
People at Mercedes have told Life that the S-class can be accepted with a small engine in Thailand, but the German parent firm hasn't given the green light yet (read: a 6 million baht S-class).
In the meantime, get set to welcome a new Merc SUV that could make the E-class estate redundant in Thailand _ either a good or bad thing, depending on your taste and what you think a proper family weekend mover should be like.

THE BLOODLINE

W163

1997-2005
First-gen ML officially arrived on Thai shores with V6 petrol power. Although it had SUV practicality levels to match, the ML was notorious for its patchy build quality and tacky trimmings.

W164

2005-2011
Exterior design and interior quality took a step forward, and it came with V6 diesel alternative to help quell criticisms of hefty fuel consumption that SUVs are usually known for.

W166

 Styling remains evolutionary, but it's the tech that beckons for Thai assembly. There's a new downsized ML250 CDI, and a diesel/electric version of it slated to be badged ML300 Hybrid.

Author: Rechard Leu, Motoring News Editor Bangkok Post
( Courtacy: Bangkok Post. http://www.bangkokpost.com )

 

Mercedes targets young blood with C-Class sports coupe

DAN PROUDFOOT 

For many years, the absence of a small, sporty two-door coupe has caused younger buyers to turn to BMW, or more recently to Audi or Infiniti. So it was that Mercedes put Heidl in charge of developing the C-Class Coupe that comes to Canada in September – two months after he takes delivery of his own company car.

“I am the demographic for this car,” he said to me. “I’m 38 years old.”
Concerned about the greying of its European customer base, Benz talks a youthful story at every opportunity in the process of introducing the C-coupe. It’s as though it has suddenly realized that the sub-middle-age two-door buyers it has been ignoring for decades could become customers for life once hooked by a winsome coupe.
So in glossy company publications, younger members of the creative team are at the forefront. Interior designer Adriana Balko, 32, is said to love the two-tone steering wheel in Edition 1, a limited-production run of the C350, of which 50 will be on offer in Canada. Ulrich Baer, a design team member, age 39, favours the rear of the coupe as its best angle. Heidl himself speaks of the cabin possessing “a really stylish lounge atmosphere.”
Seeing the car for the first time, though, my gut reaction to the fruit of their youthful labour is rather mature in appearance. If BMW’s 3-Series coupe appears sinuous and Audi’s A5 sculptured, muscular might be the word that most positively describes the new entrant in the class.
Heidl identifies the 3-Series coupe as the target. And like the BMW, the C-Coupe is intended to appeal to everyone from lounge lizards to track junkies. The atmosphere is sporty and elegant, regardless of engine and suspension configuration: rear seating as well as front consists of individual buckets, and panoramic sunroofs overhead will distinguish all cars sold in Canada.
We drive the V-6-powered C350 first. This is the offering intended for well-dressed, well-heeled coupe buyers – i.e., those men and women who’ve been walking past Mercedes-Benz dealerships and buying $46,700 Infiniti G37 coupes. (Pricing for the Mercedes line is to be announced closer to the September introduction, but can be expected to range from $40,000 to $70,000.)
Comfort may be as important as pace for lounger-drivers, which is why the Dynamic Handling Package is standard in this model, optional in the base-priced C250. A touch of a button engages a soft suspension setting. Selecting sport mode becomes the obvious choice when making full use of the direct-injection V-6’s 302 horsepower on our way into the Sierra Morena foothills, much reducing lean and sharpening turn-in on the two-laner’s tight curves.
During such times of 100 per cent concentration behind the wheel, the automatic transmission plays its role shifting more quickly and steering centring alters, contributing to the rush. Or not – for this model is first and foremost a luxurious cruiser and many of its buyers will engage the sport setting once and never more stray from comfort.
The C250 to this driver turns out to be the more engaging car. Its turbocharged four-cylinder, 1.8-litre engine is lighter than the V-6, improving front-rear weight distribution while dropping curb weight from 1,615 kg to 1,550. Steering response seems sharper than with the heftier six. Plus it’s an engine with character and
 affirmative exhaust music.

Although the four-cylinder’s 201 horsepower falls well short of the V-6’s 302 or, for that matter, the base BMW inline-six’s 230, its 229 lb-ft of torque exceeds the BMW’s 200 – and you feel its pull at lower engine speed than with the C350’s V-6.
According to the manufacturer’s performance figures, the V-6 reaches 100 km/h in 6.0 seconds, the four in 7.2. In either case, 210 km/h is the electronically limited top speed. You’ll prefer the six if a strong initial lunge pulling away from a stop is a priority, or the four for its responsiveness to the involved driver.
Certainly you find yourself using the manual-mode of the automatic in the four-cylinder car more than in the C350 on the twisting roads Mercedes has chosen to showcase the coupes. Working the paddle shifters beneath the steering wheel keep the engine in its sweet zone between 2,300 and 4,300 rpm.
It’s a shame the paddles aren’t standard in C250s destined for Canada, but are part of the optional Sport Package. Heated seats are optional, too. And a Premium Package is necessary for such niceties as power-folding mirrors, Harman-Kardon surround sound, Sirius satellite radio and a parking distance sensor system.
Even the more luxurious C350 requires a Premium Package for a navigation/DVD system as well as the audio and parking aid in the C250 grouping. Mercedes-Benz Canada appears to be working toward introducing lower base prices than competitors’ with desirable options likely upping the ante.
Ambitious Mercedes increasingly wants to compete in every conceivable category, soon introducing the A-Class (even smaller than the B-Class) to North America, breathing new life into its super-luxury Maybach division, taking over selling the Smart in the United States. Adding a sport coupe to the lineup was long overdue.

C63 AMG Coupe

The SLS gullwing sports/race car’s engine powers the C63 AMG Coupe.

This is front of mind as I drive on to the Cirquito Monteblanco race track, with factory-employed DTM racer Susie Stoddart leading three journalists. The faster we go, the faster she will go.

Just think: a 6.2-litre monster V-8 rated at 563 horsepower and 479 lb-ft when mounted mid-chassis in a $198,000 two-seater, now reappears in 451 hp/443 lb-ft form in the nose of a two-door coupe that will start at $40,000-something with a base engine.

The cars we’re driving actually are up-rated with Performance Package Plus, utilizing SLS connecting rods, crankshaft and pistons, for 481 horsepower and a top speed of 280 km/h.
American muscle cars like the Pontiac GTO coupled huge V-8s and mid-sized two-doors almost 40 years ago. They could burn rubber all day long but couldn’t turn a corner.
Stuffing a huge engine into a relatively small car, however, is the sort of mischief the performance division of Mercedes performs quite magically.
The C63 AMG Coupe is intended to compete with the BMW M3 and Audi RS5. It needs to corner. And corner it does – tail-out in the tight turns of Monteblanco but easily controllable with the stability control turned to Sport Plus, quite the opposite to the under-steering, ploughing effect common among nose-heavy cars. AMG claims 53/47 front-rear weight distribution.
It’s a fun drive that rewards smoothness behind the wheel, as becomes apparent as the two other journalists who have more track experience and Stoddart steadily pull ahead of yours truly. And no matter how hard I over-drive the thing trying to catch up, scrubbing speed and trimming curbs, the stability control prevents spinning out.
The three-link front suspension is redesigned to AMG specifications and the rear reinforced. Negative camber is dialled into the wheels as in pure racing cars and the side-to-side between the wheels increased.
The transmission, too, is not at all like that of the C250 or C350 apart from the seven gears having identical ratios. The AMG-specific Speedshift (as it’s called) dispenses with the more ordinary C-Coupes’ torque converter and shifts as quickly as 100 milliseconds. Confirming the emphasis on performance, final drive is 3.060, compared to 2.230 in the civilian models.
The aluminum hood provides visual differentiation with its twin “power domes” as AMG describes the raised lines reminiscent of the SLS and the 300SL sports cars. Viewed from behind, the distinctive black diffuser with four tailpipes communicates the internal monkey business with less subtlety.
Inside, the sports seats are supportive rather than claustrophobic, the steering wheel (flattened top and bottom) feels as good as it looks. Some colleagues find the ride is overly firm even in Comfort mode, but I find no cause for complaint. Toronto-calibre potholes would be jarring, but reality is buyers of this model likely will only encounter them on Kingston Road on the way to participating in track days at Mosport.
I complete my Monteblanco experience in the passenger seat as Susie leads three journalists from Dubai. Soon she’s complaining as two of them fall behind. “Not every journalist is a fast driver, Susie,” I point out. “But we’re not even going fast,” she replies as she drives with one hand on the steering wheel, effortlessly, in a different dimension.
In the following weekend’s DTM stock car race at Spielberg, Austria, Susie finishes 13th as journeyman Martin Tomczyk wins and former F-1 driver Ralf Schumacher places second. With cars of this calibre, getting the most out of them is always the challenge and the reward.
( Courtacy: THE GLOB AND MAIL  http://www.theglobeandmail.com )

mercides benz Born to achieve

 

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG. Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Karl Benz's creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, patented in January 1886 and Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach by the addition of a petrol engine later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. The first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company^.  Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles.^[2] Mercedes-Benz is one of the most well-known and established automotive brands in the world, and is also the world's oldest automotive brand still in existence today.

In 1958 Mercedes-Benz entered into a distribution agreement with the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA), makers of Studebaker and Packard brand automobiles^. Under the deal, Studebaker would allow Mercedes-Benz access to its dealer network in the U.S., handle shipments of vehicles to the dealers, and in return, receive compensation for each car sold. Studebaker also was permitted to use the German automaker's name in its advertisements, which stressed Studebaker's quality over quantity.
When Studebaker entered into informal discussions with Franco-American automaker Facel Vega about offering Facel Vega Excellence model in the United States, Mercedes-Benz objected to the proposal. Studebaker, which needed Mercedes-Benz distribution payments to help stem heavy losses, dropped further action on the plan.
Mercedes-Benz maintained an office within the Studebaker works in South Bend from 1958 to 1963, when Studebaker's U.S. operations ceased. Many U.S Studebaker dealers converted to Mercedes-Benz dealerships at that time. When Studebaker closed its Canadian operation and left the automobile business in 1966, remaining Studebaker dealers had the option to convert their dealerships to Mercedes-Benz dealership agreements

Quality rankings

Objective measures looking at passenger vehicles, such as J. D. Power surveys, demonstrated a up turn in reputation in this criteria in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By mid-2005, Mercedes returned to the industry excellent for initial quality, a measure of excellent interior and driving experience according to J.D. Power. In J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for the first quarter of 2007, Mercedes showed dramatic improvement by climbing from 3rd to 1st place, surpassing quality leader Toyota, and earning several awards for its models.For 2008, Mercedes-Benz's initial quality rating improved by yet another mark, now in first place. On top of this accolade, it also received the Platinum Plant Quality Award for its Mercedes’ Sindelfingen, Germany assembly plant. As of April 2011, Consumer Reports of the United States has changed their reliability ratings for several Mercedes-Benz vehicles ranking them "the least reliable vehicles in three categories. Six of its 13 models were below average, and the GLK SUV was far below average this year.